With Ban on Drilling Practice, Town Lands in Thick of Dispute

LONGMONT, Colo. — This old farming town near the base of the Rocky Mountains has long been considered a conservative next-door neighbor to the ultraliberal college town of Boulder, a place bisected by the railroad and where middle-class families found a living at the vegetable cannery, sugar mill and Butterball turkey plant.

But this month, Longmont became the first town in Colorado to outlaw hydraulic fracturing, the oil-drilling practice commonly known as fracking. The ban has propelled Longmont to the fiercely contested forefront of the nation’s antifracking movement, inspiring other cities to push for similar prohibitions.

But it has also set the city on a collision course with oil companies and the State of Colorado.

“People really didn’t think through this too well,” Mayor Dennis L. Coombs said, sounding weary at the prospect of an onslaught of lawsuits. “We are where we are. I guess you have to respect the people.”

1. good

2. This is very close to my home.

Longmont is the largest city by my house. Two of the towns mentioned in the article abut my town. Another town bordering mine was featured in the documentary Gasland because resident's tap water was able to be lit on fire. Here's the view from the bike path where I walk my dog, looking toward Longmont:

Kudos to Longmont, Colorado residents! May you continue to speak truth to power and may you succeed in your fight!